Keeping My Promise
by AnnCarter
Summary: The Doctor gave Rose his promise that he'd never leave her behind. Now he has to keep it. Sequel for The Doctor's Promise; Doomsday fix-it one-shot. Spoilers up to the end of The Runaway Bride.
_All rights for Doctor Who are the BBC's; I own nothing._

 **AN:** At first I was gonna post this as the fourth part of The Doctor's Promise, but seeing as this isn't exactly a missing scene and it's a Doomsday fix-it, I ended up choosing to post this separately. Seeing the review asking me for exactly this, I couldn't help but write this down immediately. Thank Teekalin for that :)

* * *

It's been four weeks since the battle of Canary Wharf.

"He's not coming, dear." Jackie said gently as she handed her daughter a mug filled with warm tea. Rose shook her head slightly, sipping the tea silently. Sitting in front of her daughter, Jackie added, "You heard him yourself. He said it's impossible."

"He made a promise, mum," Rose said quietly, her eyes looking at Jackie but not quite seeing her. Three times the Doctor gave her his word he wouldn't leave her behind, and if there was something she was certain about, it was the fact he would keep it.

Jackie said nothing, but just shook her head slightly and got up. Ever since the battle, Rose had barely left the house, and knowing how painful the experience was to her, Jackie didn't pressure her into doing anything. But seeing as Rose wasn't getting any better, she began growing worried about her.

Rose, on the other hand, didn't move. She finished drinking the tea and remained seated there, staring forward and hoping the Doctor really was on his way to her and it wasn't just wishful thinking.

* * *

"We have to go."

Jackie looked up to see her daughter standing in front of her, her eyes sparkling in excitement. Relief washed over Jackie as she stood up, smiling at Rose. She knew she would come around eventually.

"Where?" She asked.

"Norway." Jackie frowned, but Rose didn't give her a chance to speak. "I had a dream, mum. It was the Doctor. He's coming."

Jackie sighed quietly. She thought Rose would be over that idea by now. "Rose-"

"No, I _know_ it, mum." Rose, still excited, took her mother's hands with hers. "He was telling me to go there. It was him. I know it was."

On the one hand, it sounded impossible. The Doctor himself said that once he closes the breach, there would be no way to travel between the universes. On the other hand, it was the Doctor – the man who changed his face, grew a new hand, travelled through space and time and has been living for hundreds of years. Impossible was nothing compared to him.

If there was anyone who could send Rose a message, it was him.

Somewhat reluctantly, Jackie nodded. "Tell your dad."

Smiling widely, Rose hugged her and hurried to find her father.

* * *

When their car stopped on the shore, Rose practically jumped out and hurried to walk around. The beach was quiet, almost too quiet for it to be natural. It seemed like the perfect meeting spot for the Doctor.

Behind her she could hear Jackie, Pete and Mickey leaving the car behind her, but she ignored them, looking around her. She knew it was his voice she'd heard in her dream; knew he was giving her instructions to meet him. It was the Doctor; she was certain of it. But where was he?

"Rose."

She turned around immediately, her heart pounding. There he was, standing in front of her, his image faded and flickering slightly. His eyes were filled with pain and another emotion that she wasn't quite sure she could name. _Care, or something more?_ She wondered, hoping for the latter.

"Doctor." Her voice was quiet and filled with tears. "I knew you'd come."

He smiled, but his smile was sad more than anything else. "I wouldn't have given up on it for anything," He said, his eyes glistening with tears. "I had to say goodbye. The energy it requires is more than the TARDIS can generate, really. I'm in orbit around a supernova. I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" It couldn't be true. He couldn't be serious. "But…"

His sad smile appeared once again. "The walls between realities are closed. No way to travel between them anymore."

"Then…" Her voice quivered, "Then how are you here?"

"It's the last crack remaining between the universes. It's just about to close. I got to it right in time to see it closing." His voice was somewhat bitter.

"If you can be here-"

He shook his head, already knowing what she wanted to ask. "It's just a projection."

She nodded slightly in understanding, trying to hide her tears. Her mother was right after all. "But you promised," She whispered to herself as quietly as she could.

He wasn't supposed to hear that, but he did. A single tear escaped his eye, followed by another one and another one, until tears were streaming down his cheeks, his face mirroring hers. She was right; he gave her his word that he wouldn't leave her behind. It was echoing in his mind ever since she was gone. But no matter how much he wanted to change it, there was nothing he could do.

"I know," He whispered back, stepping closer to her, as if he could touch her if he comes close enough. But he couldn't, he knew it. There was nothing he could do to bring her back to him.

Nothing.

And yet, his hearts refused to accept the fact she was beyond his reach now.

"Rose…" He started, not entirely sure what he wanted to say. They were running out of time; he could practically feel it as they stood there, looking at each other through a shade of tears. How could he leave her there, knowing he'd never see her again? How could he walk away after he gave her his word, the word that was only worth something thanks to her? She reminded him what it means to be the Doctor – how to keep the one promise dearer to him than life itself.

 _Never cruel or cowardly; never give up, never give in._

The one promise dearer than everything but Rose and the promise he made her.

She seemed too invested in her emotions to notice the change in him. He straightened up, his eyes filling with determination. Taking a step backwards, he started scanning the TARDIS, looking for something, anything, that could help him return her home.

"I love you," She said, tears still streaming down her cheeks, but he barely even noticed. She stared at him, wide-eyed, as he ran to the other side of the console, slowly coming up with a plan. "Doctor?" Her voice quivered once again, telling him how hurt she was.

"I have an idea," He said, not looking up from the console as he pulled switches and pressed buttons. "I'm going to need more power…" Looking up at her, he hurriedly added, "Don't move", before disappearing altogether.

Staring at the point where he was standing, Rose let go of what little self-control she had remaining and stumbled away, now crying openly. The Doctor was gone. Forever, probably. He didn't even notice the last thing she said to him, and – she had no doubt now – he most certainly didn't feel the same.

Except the way he behaved before disappearing suggested the exact opposite, her heart tried to argue. He said he had an idea. _What sort of an idea?_ She asked herself, letting her mother hug her and mumble comforting words in her ear. _Could he have found a way?_

When Jackie suddenly turned quiet and stiffened, Rose looked up, moving away from her mother. Turning back to where the Doctor stood earlier, she found herself looking at the Doctor, standing – grinning widely – in the middle of the console room.

"It's not gonna hold for much longer," He said, extending his hand to her. "I've managed to link the universes. But the crack _is_ closing and the whole solar system I'm burning is about to collapse. There's a chance…" He hesitated briefly before admitting, "There's a chance it wouldn't work. A chance you'd stay there, or worse, that you'd end up trapped in the void."

"Can I touch you?" She mumbled, taking a step towards him.

"Yes, but you have to do it fast, Rose." He hesitated again. "That's the last chance. I won't give up, no matter what, but I… I don't think there's any other way. And the longer we wait, the higher the chances it wouldn't work."

Turning back to her mother, Rose smiled through her tears. "Goodbye, mum," She whispered before hugging her tightly.

"Take care," Jackie whispered in her ear, hugging her back just as tightly.

Rose nodded briefly and then moved away and turned back towards the Doctor. Hesitantly, she reached out to him, her heart filled with doubt and fear, and gasped in surprise when her hand met his. He held her hand tightly and, grinning, pulled her towards him.

* * *

When Rose woke up, she found herself in a soft, warm bed. Her eyes still closed, she started going over her memories, trying to understand where she was and what happened. She seemed to be well – which suggested she wasn't hurt and probably didn't end up in the Void. Whether the bed was the one she had in the TARDIS or the one in her new home… that she couldn't tell, not without opening her eyes.

Which scared the hell out of her.

She couldn't imagine what she'd do if it didn't work. He said he wouldn't give up, but he seemed just as pessimistic about the chances of anything else to succeed. And he was the Doctor – he never let anything stop him. Not until now.

"Well, she's alive," She heard a voice saying. An unfamiliar hand – much like the voice – gently took her hand and checked for pulse. "She's definitely alive."

"This much I could tell myself," Another voice said, making her heart skip a beat. Unlike the first voice, this one was familiar. More than familiar, really. And he sounded unhappy. "I didn't bring her here so you could tell me that."

"Well, aren't you the one who said he's a Doctor?" The first voice retorted. The Doctor growled, unsatisfied, but said nothing more. That was usually the only argument that could shut him up. "She should wake up soon. Give her some time."

He growled again, but didn't say anything, not until she heard footsteps walking away. She heard him slumping next to her bed, mumbling to himself, "That's why cats shouldn't be practicing medicine."

Unable to stop herself, she giggled. Her voice sounded weird to her own ears – somewhat weak and hoarse – but it was still hers. She could practically see the Doctor's head shooting up as he jumped up to his feet, hurrying towards her.

"Rose?" He breathed out, one of his hands taking hers. "Rose, can you hear me?"

"Yeah," She mumbled weakly. He breathed out in relief. Slowly sitting up in her bed, she opened her eyes, slowly taking in her surroundings. She was in the hospital on New Earth, lying in bed with the Doctor standing by her side. The room was just as she remembered it, and she wondered if it was the same room they were stuck in or all rooms were the same. Seeing the relief in the Doctor's eyes, she smiled, squeezing his hand gently. "What happened?"

"You've been unconscious for days!" He blurted out, sitting on the bed by her side, facing her. "The TARDIS could heal most of your injuries, but you still wouldn't wake up and I was beginning to worry there was something wrong that we didn't pick up, even though-"

"I mean, on the beach," She cut off his gob, knowing that was the only way to get a straight answer from him.

He stopped. Looking down, he got up, placing his hands in his pockets. There was an unusual seriousness about him, as if something was wrong and he didn't tell her. He opened his mouth to speak, but then apparently changed his mind, as he shut it again and shook his head slightly.

"Doctor?" She couldn't help but feel worried at the sudden change in the Doctor's behaviour.

"On the beach?" He asked eventually, after a long moment of silence. She frowned but nodded. "Where were you?"

"Norway," She replied softly, still frowning slightly. "They call it Bad Wolf Bay."

His smile was somewhat bitter. "Quite right too."

"Doctor, what happened there?" She insisted softly, her hand reaching out to him. He didn't take it and she let it fall back to the bed, somewhat hurt.

"How long were you waiting for me?" He asked quietly, still not meeting her eyes.

"Minutes," She replied immediately. He looked up at her in surprise. "It wasn't even an hour. I don't know exactly how much," She added hesitantly, "But if it matters to you…"

"Minutes?" He mumbled, his eyes wide. It seemed as though he hadn't even heard the rest of the sentence. "Minutes." She nodded. "It worked. Rose, it worked!" Slowly, he grinned, his eyes filled with excitement.

His sudden excitement was just as confusing as the rest of their conversation. "Doctor, what happened there?"

He sat back down, still grinning. "I thought I needed more power if I wanted to try and pull you back here," He said. "She said it wouldn't be possible without widening the rift, which meant collapsing both universes into one another, and we couldn't do that, so I still had to figure out how-"

"And?"

Realising he had once again gone off-subject, he stopped and took a deep breath. "While I flew over to a nearby solar system, someone appeared aboard the TARDIS. A bride. Donna Noble." Rose frowned slightly. "It turned out to be a long story, involving the Racnoss – I didn't think any of them were still alive – and that fiancé of hers – really, why would anyone-?"

"Doctor!"

"Right." Moving a hand through his hair, he continued the story. "Anyway, Donna ended up on the TARDIS because she absorbed huon particles – they're tiny little particles who are extremely deadly and dangerous, but they attract one another, and the TARDIS is the only place in the universe where they still exist. My TARDIS attracted her. And then I thought… if the TARDIS could attract her, it should be able to attract _anything_ that contains those particles. No matter how far away."

She frowned once again. "But I don't contain these particles."

He nodded. "You didn't. You don't now, either – I made sure of that the moment we had you – but I had to find a way to get a large amount of them through to you, and I didn't have much time. I figured that if I go back at the exact moment I left, I should be able to use the crack, but I had to deal with that first. I ended up going backwards in time and meeting you just a teeny bit earlier than we originally met..." He swallowed loudly as she raised her eyebrows. "Never mind that. The point is, it worked! You're here." He grinned happily again.

"Yeah." Slowly, a smile spread over her lips. "I'm here."

He grinned for another moment before leaning closer and whispering, "Do you think we could go now? I really wouldn't want to run into another one of them," He added, tilting his head towards the door.

She giggled but nodded. He helped her stand up and once she felt stable enough, led her through the hospital back to the TARDIS. As soon as they were away, the Doctor sat down, studying Rose quietly.

She looked down at the consoles at first, but feeling his mood, she looked up at him, surprised to see him looking her at this intently. Looking down again, she gently touched different levers on the console, silently getting used to being in the TARDIS again. She'd missed that.

"How long has it been?" He asked softly eventually.

"Three months," She replied, just as softly.

He nodded briefly in understanding, more to himself than to her. "Rose…" There was an unfamiliar tone to his voice, but she didn't dare looking up. "Right before I left, right before I had my idea, you said something." _So he_ did _hear me._ "What was it?"

"Nothing," She mumbled.

"It wasn't nothing." She could hear him getting up and coming closer to her until he stopped just inches from her. "What was it?"

She shook her head silently, refusing to answer.

"You know," His voice was suddenly back to its regular light tone, surprising her, "The thing is, I've made a promise. My name, it's a promise. The Doctor. Quite the promise, too. But then came the Time War, and I couldn't keep that promise, not without letting the universe burn.

"I spent a long time thinking I'd never be able to keep that promise again," He added as he started walking around. "I thought I'd never be the Doctor again. Not the way I used to be. But then… then we ended up in Van Statten's little museum with that one, last Dalek. Do you remember what you did?" She nodded slightly. "You stopped me from killing it.

"Rose…" His voice turned softer again as he stopped next to her. "I gave you my word that I wouldn't leave you behind, but that word was only worth something because…" He took a deep breath. "If it weren't for you…"

"What, Doctor?" She whispered, finally looking up to meet his gaze.

She could have sworn time itself stopped as they looked at each other. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the warmth in his brown eyes. It was as if he really could have feelings for her. Not only could, but…

"Me too," He said simply, cutting her thoughts off.

"What?" She mumbled in surprise.

He didn't reply. He gently cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing her lips ever so lightly. Looking into his eyes, she realised he'd heard and noticed what she said on the beach – and not only that, but felt the same way.

"Me too," He repeated before gently pressing his lips against hers. Pulling back, he let go of her cheek, his hand automatically finding hers. "I gave you a promise, Rose. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm never going to leave you behind. Ever. I'll fight the universe itself if I have to. But-"

She kissed him, effectively stopping him. He grinned against her lips and cupped her cheeks, pulling her closer to him. Not so long ago, he thought he'd lost her – yet here he was now, finally kissing her like he'd wanted to do for what felt like ages now.

But then again, that was just the way it was with his promises.


End file.
